No room for Mossbank bus to be reinstated on public network

A MID-AFTERNOON Mossbank bus which was the subject a petition featuring 125 signatures from local residents is unable to be reinstated through the public bus network, Shetland’s transport partnership has heard.

ZetTrans lead officer Michael Craigie told a meeting of the partnership on Thursday that reinstating the 3.15pm bus through the public network would have required a new dedicated service at a “significant cost” which could not be met through current financial resources.

The 3.15pm public bus previously ran from the Mossbank school but the timetable was altered a number of years ago to accommodate other changes on the network.

It was used by parents and pupils to travel home after school, and a petition calling for its return was handed in earlier this year by the Mossbank School parent council.

The parent council said there would be a number of primary school and nursery children who would use the service.

It also expressed worries over children walking home from the school in the winter when it is dark, with part of the route having no pavement or street lighting.

ZetTrans officers looked for a possible solution within the bus network, but they could not find one.

Craigie said that alternating the existing service to meet the request for the 3.15pm bus within Mossbank would be “significant and would break the current links to the Yell Sound ferry, Brae and the Anderson High School”.

He confirmed that the matter has now been referred to Shetland Islands Council’s schools service for its consideration.